Melanie C reflects on how the Spice Girls each got their nicknames

By George Costantino

Ever wonder how The Spice Girls got their iconic nicknames?

Melanie C, a.k.a. Sporty Spice, reflected on how their famous monikers came to be in a recent interview with E!'s Daily Pop.

"Originally, when we were forming as a girl band, we were trying to find out a look," she explained. However, she says they were "uncomfortable" all dressing alike, as was typical for pop bands at the time.

So one day, she and her singing partners, which included Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton, noticed they all had their own distinctive sense of style -- Melanie C in her sweatpants, Geri in something quirky and Mel B like "a leopard."

Melanie C says they thought, "We kind of look great as this mish-mash, let's just do it."

And subsequently, when a London-based magazine gave each Spice Girl a nickname -- Baby, Sporty, Ginger, etc. -- based on their respective styles, Melanie C says they decided to "embrace them and run with it."

Tim Roney/Getty Images, FILE

Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown, Victoria Beckham and Geri Halliwell, aka Sporty, Baby, Scary, Posh and Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls pose for a photo in Paris, circa 1996.

Melanie C is a contestant on this season's "Dancing with the Stars" and channeled her Sporty Spice alter ego for the premiere.

She and her partner, Gleb Savchenko, danced to the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the group's debut album, "Spice."

"Dancing with the Stars," now in its 30th season, airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.